The Black Brothers
by AnotherGirlWithAStory
Summary: Drabbles/ Short fics about Sirius and Regulus Black.
1. Hide & Seek

**Title** : Hide & Seek

 **Characters** : Regulus Black and Sirius Black.

 **Prompt** : Write about a Death Eater (or 'dark' character) who is in need of affection, (word) hidden and (word) discover.

 **AN** : Written for the _Jurassic Fever [Challenge]_ held by whitetiger91 at The Golden Snitch Forum. First drabble to be written about the Black brothers.

 **Word Count** : 621

* * *

When Sirius and Regulus were young they used to play a lot of hide and seek. It was the only game they both liked. Sirius because it was a game for muggles and his parents detested hearing him ask, for once speaking in the speed they would like him to, if Regulus wanted to play hide and seek. Regulus loved the game because he was better than Sirius at it. He stayed hidden longer and would discover Sirius hiding places quicker than his brother would his. It suited them both.

Regulus often thought about that when he sat by the table in the Great Hall and saw his big brother with his friends; Sirius was always laughing, talking loudly with big gestures and never noticed the way that girls from all tables would look at him. Even some from Regulus own house would look at him with heart eyes; but they would never admit to it.

In some way, this was like playing hide and seek. But unlike when they were younger Regulus were hiding in plain sight. He sat amongst the students of his house and pretended to listen to whatever Snape and his gang were talking about that time. He would hum when required to and give them a disinterested look that in some way had them fooled. _Sirius would never have fallen for it_. But he wasn't really there. He was hiding from the world as the secret he kept weighed down on his young shoulders.

No one noticed because no one was looking.

Regulus remembered the way his heart would beat quicker when he and Sirius played hide and seek. The reason for his quickened heartbeat was the knowledge that Sirius was looking for him and when he found Regulus he always did the same thing; he smiled confidently and told him that he knew he would find him and then hugged him. Regulus always acted like he didn't want to be hugged but that was the best part of hide and seek.

He loved feeling his brother wrap his arms around him and hold him close. He didn't mind that Sirius long hair ended up in his eyes or tickling his nose; affection, like that, wasn't a regular occurrence in the Black household. And since Sirius left Regulus hadn't been hugged once. _He missed it_.

No one asked how Regulus was handling his brother's departure. They were too focused on the shame of it all. His parents spoke loudly about it with venomous voices as they cursed their former son and asked themselves what they could possibly have done to deserve this _act of treason_.

Regulus had no one to tell that he missed his brother. He had no one to look for him when Regulus hid from the world by locking himself into Sirius room and crawling up in a corner in his dusty closet. He no longer had anyone to hug him, no one to talk to and no one to support him.

"Black, are you listening?" Snape nudged his shoulder and the young Black nodded. "Are you okay? You look a bit distracted."

"I'm fine." Regulus answered shortly and Snape bought it.

He bought it because Regulus was excellent at hide and seek.

He knew that he couldn't tell Snape that he was anything but fine; he definitely couldn't tell him the truth which was that Regulus wanted, no needed, a hug from his brother. Regulus was excellent at discovering; and because of that he saw Sirius looking his way with a frown on his face. Regulus ignored him but could feel a warmth spread inside of him.

The second-best thing about playing hide and seek was the knowledge that someone was looking.

 **The end**


	2. Noise

**Title** : Noise

 **Characters** : Regulus Black, Sirius Black, Walburga Black and Orion Black.

 **Prompts** : Write about a character defending their family (in this case Regulus defending Sirius against their parents).

 **AN** : Written for the _Jurassic Fever [Challenge]_ held by whitetiger91 at The Golden Snitch Forum. This particular drabble is AU. I wanted to give Regulus a moment of bravery.

 **Word Count** : 583

* * *

Regulus was a quiet and observant child.

His behaviour was nothing short of a natural reaction to the environment he had grown up in. He quickly learned to close his grey, stormy eyes for what he was not meant to see. He learned the most efficient way to drown out the sound of screams filled with agony and when pain ripped through his body like fire in his veins he knew not to scream. He knew that biting the insides of his cheeks was better than biting his lips because that would make people ask questions. And he learned very early on that questions were not good.

He was quiet during the parties that his parents had. He was quiet at home and he was quiet in school. The only thing that Regulus believed to be worse than speaking was objecting. He never objected when his parents hit Sirius instead of him and his older brother, his amazing older brother never blamed him.

Sirius on the other hand was noisy. That was what Walburga and Orion called it when he argued with them or when he did anything other than what they ordered him to. Regulus was never called noisy. Sirius was always noisy.

Sirius spoke when he was asked to. His clear voice would cut through the practically freezing atmosphere in the room and he could somehow provide the comfort that Regulus needed so desperately. It would often get him into trouble because he spoke what was on his mind without concerning himself with their parents. Sirius had a rebellious streak. He spoke when he wasn't asked. He saw the way Regulus fingernails dug into his pale and thin skin until drops of blood painted his skin red and he spoke for himself and for his brother.

Sirius did everything they weren't supposed to. He spoke, he argued, he took the place he so rightfully deserved but was not given by their parents voluntarily. Sirius Black made some noise with the voice that he had been given even if his parents didn't like it. Consequences be damned.

No one expected Regulus to ever speak up. They were all so used to Sirius having his own voice and they were all very used to Regulus not having one at all. They expected nothing from him. Then one day he spoke.

Walburga and Orion yelled at Sirius whose determined mask only slipped for a brief moment when Orion reached for his wand. Sirius sat on Regulus left side and their parents sat on the opposite side of the table. Sirius didn't move when Walburga reached for him, her bony fingers almost touching his arm when Regulus stretched his arm out in front of his brother. The room became completely silent.

"What are you doing?" Sirius whispered but got no reply from Regulus who looked defiantly at his mother. He felt his heart swell inside his chest and involuntarily he moved his arm until he felt Sirius hand in his.

Sirius brown hair had been put up in a bun, his grey eyes shimmered with a hope so strong that it almost hid the obvious fear.

Regulus glanced at his big brother. His brave and outspoken big brother who had done so much for him and Regulus smiled. "I'm tired of being pushed around. You have your voice and I have mine…" he paused and squeezed Sirius hand when he saw his brother smile in that way only Sirius could. "Let's make a little noise."

 **The end**


	3. Making Things Right

**Title** : Making Things Right

 **Characters** : Sirius Black, Regulus Black and Penny Singh.

 **Prompt** : Write about the Truth leading to a death, (emotion) scared, (word) difference and (quote) You don't have to live forever. You just have to live. - Natalie Babbit, Tuck Everlasting. Minimum 900 words, maximum 3 000.

 **Warning** : This is AU since Regulus died in 1979. But in this one he's still alive in 1981. Also, I changed the way he looks.

 **Word Count** : 1, 144

* * *

At the age of twenty-two Sirius Black had experienced many things. It was even safe to say that he had seen more things during that short time than most people would see during their entire life. But he never thought that he would come home to his flat – _their flat, Penny would always remind him_ – and see his brother and girlfriend having, what looked like, a heartfelt conversation. The young man had already had what could be considered a bad day. His hair, half of which had been pushed back into a braid, hung loosely around his head. His clothes, which had been whole when he left that very morning was torn in a few places. He had met people that he never wanted to face in his entire life again, at least not without James, and he was not in the mood for a visit from his brother. Even if it had been three years since they saw each other.

It wasn't necessarily his brother that made him angry but just the mere feeling that he didn't have the energy for the conversation that he assumed was about to take place. If Regulus was about to tell him to honour the family again then Sirius wouldn't have the patience to tell him to leave. He would most likely, against his and Penny's better judgement, throw him out of the window of their flat. A growl escaped Sirius before he even greeted the pair and a scowl appeared on his face.

"What are you doing here?"

Regulus turned around to look at him. There were dark lines underneath his eyes and a certain gloom radiated from him. His hair had been shaved of and there were only a few millimetres gracing the top of his head. His eyes appeared bigger than before and his cheekbones stood out on his pale face. Sirius would have been shocked at the change that he saw if it hadn't been for the fact that he saw the same darkness in his own face every time he looked into the mirror. Sirius saw what he saw in every face he encountered during his days. He saw that just like everyone else, Regulus was scared. Not that it made any difference, he tried to tell himself as he pushed his brotherly instincts to the back of his mind. So, what if his brother had been affected by the war? Everyone had.

"He's here to tell us something." Penny responded when Regulus didn't. She gently patted the seat next to the couch and without giving it a second thought Sirius walked over to sit down next to her.

He didn't properly feel how sore his body was until he sat down and he sighed in content as he put one arm around Penny's waist. Regulus didn't look shocked at the sight of him either in spite of the way that he looked. Sirius knew that he had wounds on his face, new and old, and in that moment, he must have looked a lot older than his twenty-two years. But then again, he and Regulus hadn't seen each other for a few years.

"So, what did you have to tell us?"

"I know that you're not the secret keeper," Regulus said quickly while his eyes darted back and forth between the pair. "There's no need to say that I'm wrong because I know that I'm not. You said to everyone that you were their secret keeper because it was the best way to keep people from suspecting that it's really Peter."

The frown on Sirius face deepened with every word his brother said. "So, this means that…"

Regulus sighed deeply as he ran his fingers through what was left of his hair. Then he looked at Sirius with more aggravation in his eyes than he had in years. Probably not since they were children and Sirius tried to cheat at every game they played. Even the ones when it wasn't possible to cheat.

"This means that Peter is a death eater. The Dark Lord will soon know where they are hiding and then he'll go after them."

"Liar!" Sirius shouted as the anger grew inside of him and he stood up in spite of his aching body. "Peter would never betray James like that. How dare you come into our home and accuse one my brothers of being a death eater? Did mother and father set you up to this? Are you still trying to bring honour to the family name or are you doing this just because you can't stand seeing me happy for a change?"

With every word Regulus looked like he was becoming smaller. His shoulder was hunched forward and the painful expression grew more pained as he listened to the verbal abuse that his brother threw his way. But he didn't stop him. Only when Sirius stopped speaking did Regulus raise his voice as he definitely shook his head.

"I'm not enjoying telling you this, Sirius I'm really not," Regulus grip around his legs tightened as he watched Sirius sit down on the couch. "I'm telling you this because I don't want you to lose more than what you already have."

Surprise flashed across Sirius face but his scowl quickly returned. "How am I supposed to trust you?"

Regulus shrugged and looked down. After everything he had done Regulus almost felt like telling his brother that he couldn't be trusted. But after a few moments of thinking he looked up again with a small smile on his face. "Remember when I couldn't sleep because I was afraid of death and that my life wasn't going to matter, it was going to end too soon and all of that and then you told me… You don't have to live forever. You just have to live."

"I remember," Sirius nodded. "But I'm surprised that you do."

"Of course, I remember," Regulus said with a slightly offended tone of voice. "I remember a lot of things that you told me. But that particular thing has been on my mind a lot the past few months."

Sirius nodded. "You do know that you can't go back, there right? He or someone else is going to kill you when they realise what you've done."

"Yeah," Regulus shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. I've done a lot of bad things in my life. Maybe this is what I need to do to repent my actions to you and so many other people that I have hurt in some way."

"Is that why you're doing this?" Penny asked as she sat on the couch leaning forward with her head tilted to the side. Although she had never gotten to know the younger brother of her boyfriend she still had a soft spot for him that couldn't be explained.

"Yeah," Regulus nodded. "I'm making things right."

 **The end**


	4. Yesterday Would Have Been Too Late

**Title** : Yesterday Would Have Been Too Late

 **Characters** : Regulus Black, Sirius Black, Lily Evans Potter and James Potter.

 **Pairing** : Mention of Regulus x Lily

 **Prompt** : Write about someone being trapped. Minimum 500 words, maximum 3, 000. [Word] soap and [pairing] Regulus x Lily.

 **AN** : Written for Assignment #6 at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments).

 **Warning** : AU!

 **Word Count** : 825

* * *

When Regulus was eighteen years old he realised that he had never done anything right in his life. Every time life had put him at a crossroad he had looked down the paths and chosen the wrong one. He liked to think that it was out of his control. He liked to think that if he had the right people around him then maybe, just maybe, he would have taken the right path at least one of the many times when he found himself staring down the routes that laid before him. He wanted to blame someone, _anyone_ , but he knew that he couldn't. People had tried to help him. He just hadn't listened.

* * *

An image of Sirius flashed before his eyes. His brother's graceful hair was pushed behind his ears, there were a mess of emotions inside his grey eyes and he somehow looked small and emotional. Regulus wasn't used to seeing his brother like that. He was eighteen years old. Even if he was skinny his shoulders were broad and there was a power radiating from him that couldn't be ignored. He was leaving Hogwarts for the last time. The train hadn't left the station yet and this was probably the last time they would see each other. At least Regulus thought so.

"You don't have to be like this." Sirius voice quivered. Regulus knew his brother well enough to hear that. He knew Sirius well enough to hear that he wanted to say so much more than what he did.

He shrugged. "Maybe not."

His voice had been cold. He had searched his head for something more to say but no words came to him. Regulus had seen James, Lily and Remus standing a few meters away from them. Just the sight of her red hair reminded him of the possibilities he had thrown away. He could have said something which would have made Sirius continue talking. Maybe then things would have been different. But he didn't. He couldn't.

* * *

As he stood in the cold, empty house; Regulus wished that he had. He wished for a lot of things. His brown hair had gotten long. You didn't get a lot of opportunities to cut it when there was a war going on. He couldn't remember the last time he ate and his skin had a pale complexion that almost made Regulus almost not recognise himself the few times he saw his reflection. His grey eyes were haunted. There was a shadow cast over them, a shadow that stretched like claws over his entire being and through his chest where it had a firm grip around his weakened heart.

He noticed some blood on his left sleeve. "I wonder if there's any soap left." Regulus laughed.

His mother still had her claws deeply engraved in his mind. Even when she wasn't physically around she still had a say in what he thought or did. Sirius had believed that his younger brother was trapped inside that house. He had believed that once Regulus came out, if only during the semesters, he would somehow be able to free himself from the chains that was their parents. He hadn't realised that Regulus wasn't just trapped inside that house. The chains had become part of his being. He couldn't free himself of his parents and their endless amount of demands.

Regulus sometimes wondered how his life would have looked like if he had broken free from them. When his heart could bear it, he liked to close his eyes and imagine scenes from the life he could have had.

Would he be with Lily? They had only kissed once but he could still remember the feeling of her lips against her. He could hear the moan escape her lips as he kissed her throat. He could feel her fingernails scratch his lower back and his hips. She meant more to him than he would ever be able to admit. Would they have married? Regulus doubted it. But he liked the idea.

Would he and Sirius be more like real brothers? The way they were before everything was ruined? If Regulus could only have one thing then that was the thing he would have wanted. He would have done anything and everything at a chance of having his brother back.

Regulus felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was not a good day to think of what ifs. He had chances to take another path over the years. Many chances. But he didn't take them. He got himself into this situation. It was his own actions that took him to the point of no return. He could no longer change his faith. He had managed to escape the trap that had kept him paralysed for all those years. But he had escaped too late and there was nothing he could do about that. Even if he had escaped his trap yesterday, that would have been too late.

 **The end**


	5. A Different Fight Altogether

**Title** : A Different Fight Altogether

 **Characters** : Sirius Black, Regulus Black, Orion Black and Walburga Black.

 **Prompt** : Devil's Snare – Write about someone resisting (e.g. change) and only making the situation worse for themselves. Minimum 500 words, maximum 3, 000.

 **AN** : Written for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments).

 **Word Count** : 820

* * *

Sirius and Regulus Black were very different in spite of having grown up in the same home with the same parents hanging over their shoulders and watching their every move. Like many other children they did not notice that their childhoods were different from that of others until they were older. And when realisation hit them; it did so with a bang. Sirius especially was unable to not show his dislike for the actions that he deemed wrong. Regulus didn't struggle as much as his brother. People assumed that it was because he didn't notice that something was wrong with the way his parents treated certain people, or spoke about them, but he noticed. But, unlike Sirius, Regulus saw no reason to resist. Resisting would only make everything worse.

12 Grimmauld Place was not big enough for the personalities it contained. Orion and Walburga Black were both stubborn people whom had the ability to spread icy and uncomfortable tensions without speaking. Sirius Black was not unaffected by the uncomfortable atmosphere which seemed to fill the room every time the brothers spent too much time with their parents; he radiated defiance in spite of his parents trying to stifle the fire that burned wildly inside of him.

"So, Regulus…" Orion looked at his youngest son from the other end of the table. "Are you ready to go to Hogwarts?"

There was a lot of space between every member of the family; still, Regulus heard his father as clearly as if he had been sitting right next to him. Regulus glanced at his brother. Sirius pushed his food around on the plate with a disgusted expression on his face. It looked far less tasty than the food the others had on their plates. He had done something earlier that day which had resulted in him being punished. Orion and Walburga just so happened to enjoy using food as a mean of punishment rather than anything else. That didn't mean that no food or bad food was their only way of trying to ensure that their rules were being followed.

"Yes father," Regulus said and nodded. He looked at his mother. "I'm looking forward to it."

"That's good. I know _you'll_ make us proud." Orion glanced at Sirius and scoffed.

Regulus would have let it go by unnoticed. But he knew the moment the sound left his father's mouth that his older brother wasn't going to let it go. The brothers did share some similarities. They had the same dark brown hair colour, the grey eyes, the gracefulness and the casual beauty which they didn't have to work for. It was just there.

"Did something get stuck in your throat father?" Sirius asked with a tone of voice which gave him the same result as his fathers but without sounding remotely the same. Orion Black, whenever he confronted someone sounded cold and detached, while Sirius sounded emotional.

"We are not going to discuss this at the dinner table." Walburga said and earned the full attention of her oldest son.

He gave her a crooked smile and although he didn't say it out loud Regulus could almost hear him say challenge accepted; he knew that resisting and arguing with them would make everything worse for himself and yet Sirius stepped into that fight as often as he humanly could.

"Talk about what mother?"

Regulus knew, after years of experience, that this was going to turn into a full-blown fight. They were going to scream at each other and eventually he would be sent out of the room. Regulus never heard what happened after that but he knew exactly what his parents did to Sirius; even if they pretended that he didn't know anything. There was always this moment, right before the moment of no return, when Regulus thought about stepping in but almost as if having heard his thoughts Sirius looked at him and shook his head. Regulus could claim that, because of that, it was Sirius fault that he alone took the punishment. But that wasn't the case, obviously.

* * *

"I don't expect you to step in; hell, I don't want you to step in and take my side. You don't have to argue with them because I do or because you want to help me," Sirius often said in the middle of the night when their parents had gone to bed. "I have to fight them and this is the way I chose to do it."

Regulus always heard the unsaid sentence. _One day you're going to have to fight them and you'll have your own way_.

* * *

At the age of eleven he didn't know if Sirius was right or not, maybe he was just hoping that one day it would happen. All Regulus knew was that this fight would not take place now and it would not be about something as ridiculous as pride; no, it would be a different fight altogether.

 **The end**


End file.
